Opie’s Arrival (and the saga so far….)

Opie’s Arrival (and the saga so far….)

Well….shame on me!!!!It has been about two months since I last wrote – as you can imagine, I’ve been BUSY!!

Last time I wrote, I was a couple of days away from getting my new buddy Opie (my very first horse).I was so full of excitement and anticipation – for my wonderful perfect horse to come down the ramp of the horse trailer and sweep me away blissfully!!Well…..it hasn’t quite happened that way!

Opie came to me on a Friday.He was taken out of the horse trailer, and we brought him immediately into his new stall and small paddock.His paddock is an area of about 30 feet by 100 feet, that is flat and is covered in grass….so, it is actually pretty nice, but a bit small.OK….the next part I was NOT prepared for!He started to freak out – was totally out of his mind – was bucking and rearing, and running around like crazy beans – really, he was clearly not in his mind at all.I was participating by standing nearby, in his paddock….but it didn’t take me long to get out of there!I felt like he was such a dangerous horse, I couldn’t stay with him – I just didn’t feel safe at all.

For the first two days, I didn’t go into his paddock or stall, I was too scared of him.Then, slowly, I began to get in touch with that little bit of bravery inside me, and I managed to stand inside his paddock.By this point, he had calmed down a bit too – but was still pretty scary.

I went to the farm almost every single day, and we began to get used to each other.I tried to touch him and brush him a little bit – at liberty (no leashes), so that we got comfortable with each other.

My trainer has been completely amazing – she isn’t afraid of anything!She’s been working with Opie and me intensely since his arrival, and we are making strides every day!I still go to the farm almost every single day and now Opie and I are transforming our relationship….He has stopped being so scary – he only scares me occasionally, and now I’m much more capable of handling it.I’m braver, and he is calmer….

We’ve worked together, and our love for each other is growing.I’ve communicated with him many times – which has been fantastic!He is a very good communicator.At first, all of his messages were of the hurt and abandonment that he has endured.He has begged me to never leave him,and has needed to be reassured that we are the new team – it is him an me, and we are going to be together always.But just last weekend, I connected with him, and his message was different – and SO awesome!He told me that I’d better stop being lazy, I’d better get in shape – because he is ready to have me ride him, and when we ride….he is going to be super athletic!He told me he is a teenage boy, he is healthy now, and he is ready to ROCK AND ROLL!!!Ha ha!It was just so funny!And, so heartening!It made me feel that all of the work and bonding we’ve been doing up to now has really made a difference for him!

So, we have fallen in love with each other!(Don’t you think that it is safe to say that?!). Here is a fun selfie I took while flirting with Opie in his pasture.I love it because it seems to capture our love for each other.

I’m excited to tell you more – as SO much more is happening in my life!I can hardly wait to write again!